The Last Reminders
by RedGlasses22
Summary: Snape's last reminders of Lily throughout Harry's time at Hogwarts.


**A/N: I normally hate Snape but after hearing another writer on this site explain why she likes Snape, I wanted to have a go at writing his story. Here it is! Enjoy and if you have anything to say (good or bad) please leave a review! (writing a review would make my day and would probably make me do my happy dance but no pressure) Thank you xx**

Harry Potter looked just like his father. Snape had heard this said repeatedly before he ever laid eyes on Harry and after he had, Severus could say it was completely and utterly true. From the tousled black hair to the way he held himself, Harry Potter was a carbon copy of James. Like his Father, Harry did not get along well with the Slytherins and like his Father, Harry immediately made firm friends at Hogwarts which gave him a certain arrogance. Harry also chose to roam Hogwarts after curfew, go into out of bounds areas and smart talk his teachers, exactly the way his father had. Snape despised this constant reminder of James Potter but what he hated more was the constant reminder of Lily: the love he had lost.

There were many,_ many_ times in the years that Snape knew Harry that reminded him of Lily. The first was the at the sorting ceremony when Snape realised that Lily had given Harry her eyes. It was the same pair of emerald-green eyes that stared at him suspiciously across the Great Hall that had years previously, stared curiously at him as he told Lily she was a witch. However, it was also the same eyes that got sorted into Gryffindor and met James Potter for the first time. Even though this recollection hurt Snape more than he would ever care to admit, he vowed to keep this last reminder of Lily alive.

When Harry attended his first-ever Potions class, he bore a huge resemblance to Lily. Both of them shared a look of utmost concentration when they worked. Lily's brow used to furrow and she would bite her lip when posed with a particularly hard question. Snape used to love watching her whilst she was concentrating. She disconnected from the world, barely moving except to occasionally brush her thick red hair back behind her shoulder or swiftly glance at Snape. That had changed. In her last year, those glances were then aimed at Potter and a smile usually accompanied them. Potions had been one of her favourite subjects and she had partaken with such enthusiasm. Lily had always been Snape's rival in Potions and it irked him when Harry showed a slight disdain for Potions, not dissimilar to his Father, who had often started at Lily or mucked around with his mates.

It had been one of Harry's soon-to-be best mates that had shown huge enthusiasm in their first Potions class. Hermione Granger was very similar to Lily Evans. They were both muggle-born and fighting to prove their worth in the wizarding world. Snape had always held onto a huge amount of guilt for even slightly helping the Dark Lord because people like him were what drove people like Lily and Hermione to have to battle every day for their place in the world: a battle that Lily had lost. Snape chose to release this guilt upon Hermione Granger. He did the same to small, pathetic Neville Longbottom. If Voldemort had gone after the Longbottoms, Lily might have lived rather than giving up her life for her and James' son; this was something Snape could _never_ let go of.

It had been years later the next time he had gotten a reminder of Lily; it was in the Shrieking Shack when Harry was merciful to Peter Pettigrew. In Snape's opinion, Black had behaved like James probably would have and sought to kill Pettigrew, whereas Lily would have been merciful. Snape had often seen compassion fill her features as she helped someone that probably didn't deserve it yet here she was; her memory doing it again. This stayed with Snape for years and was what drove him to protect Harry and his friends later that night, all the while thinking of Lily.

In Harry's fifth year, Snape saw Lily's cunning and intelligence when Harry was fighting Umbridge. Snape and Lily had often dealt with Petunia's bullying in a way that was comparable to how Harry was now dealing with Umbridge's bullying. Back then Snape had thought that Lily would be in Slytherin with him. Things could have turned out so differently if she had been and this had often been one of Snape's teenage fantasies. So, after Harry gave him the message about Sirius, he immediately relayed it to the Order, hoping to save Harry and Black. Snape knew that was Lily would have wanted.

Snape had always kept an eye on Harry over his years at Hogwarts. He successfully managed to keep him out of harm's way from the dark forces within Hogwarts but had watched him grow up in the mean-time. Snape had watched the joy in Harry's eyes as he played in his first game of Quidditch, a game that Lily had always tried to pretend to hate so as not to boost Potter's ego. She had never been able to hide her love of the sport from Snape, who recognised the same twinkle in her eye watching it that Harry had playing it. Snape watched Harry stress over exams the way Lily had and watched the same joy as he mastered a new spell. He then watched Harry find love, the way Lily had.

Harry gave Snape his last reminder of Lily on the night of the Battle of Hogwarts. A young Snape had often dreamt of him and Lily growing old together and he had always imagined that the last thing he would ever see was Lily. This final wish was granted. As he died, Snape looked into Lily's eyes and he hoped that he had made her proud.


End file.
